September 20 & 21, 2025 European Heritage Days

For the 42^nd edition of the European Heritage Days, the Palace of Versailles was celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the Third Republic. The public discovered the Congress, built in 1875 for the Members of Parliament and the Senate, and the flats of the President of the Congress!

Opening of the Congress chamber and the appartment of the congress president

For the 42^nd edition of the European Heritage Days, the Palace of Versailles was offering a Republican tour! 

Palace of the Kings under the Ancien Regime, the Palace of Versailles became home to the National Assembly in 1871, when it fled Paris and the revolutionary government of the Commune. A new hemicycle room was inaugurated in the heart of the Midi wing in 1875 to house the Chamber of Deputies. Today, it is still used by the Senate and the National Assembly to meet in Congress for the adoption of constitutional amendments, or for the President of the Republic's addresses to the two assemblies.

On the occasion of the European Heritage Days, the Palace was opening the Congress Chamber and the flat of the President of the Congress free of charge, and offering a special programme.

Program 

Activities 

The visitors listened to speeches by great figures in the history of the Republic, such as Gambetta, Jules Ferry and Mac Mahon, in an immersive sound experience!

The ‘1 lettre 1 sourire’ association offered a postcard-making workshop as part of the tour.

Mediations

During the visit, student mediators from the Ecole du Louvre explained more about these places where the Republic expresses itself in the Palace of the kings.

Opening of the Royal Opera

The Royal Opera House at the Palace of Versailles opened its doors exceptionally for European Heritage Days! 

Visitors discovered the Royal Opera House, a jewel of 18th-century French heritage!

Commissioned by Louis XIV, built by Louis XV and inaugurated for the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, the Royal Opera House at the Palace of Versailles was the largest theatre in Europe when it was built in 1770! Today, this remarkable building, made entirely of wood, hosts more than 120 performances a year: staged operas and concert versions, recitals, theatre, ballets, and more.